Drawing on interviews with Ingmar Bergman and Max von Sydow amongst others, Barry Paris examines the "brooding northern soul" that defined Garbo's work and personality and which was rooted in an unhappy childhood. Her later relationships with G.W. Pabst, Louis B. Mayer, John Gilbert, George Cukov and Ernst Lubitsch are explored as are some of her lesser-known friendships with women, notably Pola Negri, Lillian Gish and Ava Gardner. He also considers the question of whether Garbo actually intended to retire from the cinema - and brings to light the secret final years of her life.